Her journey began over a decade ago when she founded the Sustainable Ocean Alliance as a college student, scaling it into the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders across 168 countries and supporting 65+ pioneering ocean startups. Through this experience supporting hundreds of ocean innovators, she identified a systemic failure in ocean finance that led her to building permanent financial infrastructure where ocean health and business prosperity become inseparably linked.

Recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree for her pioneering work in ocean innovation and named One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year for her revolutionary global impact, Daniela has established herself as a leading voice in sustainable finance. Her groundbreaking approach has earned her the Silicon Valley Visionary Award for technology and entrepreneurship excellence, cementing her reputation as an innovator reshaping entire industries. Daniela believes the ocean is not just a victim, but a powerful solution, and that the financial system must be restructured to reflect this reality.

In recent years, her work has increasingly focused on the structural conditions required to scale innovation, from data transparency and impact measurement to capital allocation models capable of accelerating technology adoption across ocean-dependent sectors. She argues that artificial intelligence and advanced digital systems will only transform the blue economy if supported by robust financial architecture, credible metrics and institutional alignment. For Daniela, the future of ocean innovation lies not only in technological breakthroughs, but in the ability to embed them into markets at scale, with discipline and measurable outcomes.